Renee Newcomer Appaneal
Interests include: psychological aspects of sport injury, clinical (i.e., mental health) issues in sport and exercise, and professional issues in sport and exercise psychology (i.e., applied training, supervision, and ethics). Dr. Appaneal's primary research examines the impact of psychological distress upon risk of and recovery from sport injury. Specifically, she’s interested in the relationship between personality factors (e.g., optimism, hardiness, self-esteem) and coping, and the subsequent effects of those upon athletes’ health status and sport performance. Other research interests include athletes’ clinical reactions to injury (i.e., traumatic distress, depression), and the effectiveness of mental skills training for injury prevention, rehabilitation, and athletes’ return to play. Dr. Appaneal has been consulting with athletes, teams, and coaches since 1995. She is a Certified Consultant in applied sport psychology (AASP-CC) and a member of the USOC Sport Psychology Registry. In addition, she is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in North Carolina and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). Beyond her work with athletes of all ages and competitive levels, Dr. Appaneal has also consulted in a variety of behavioral medicine settings. For example, she has worked with patients with chronic disease and pain related to their emotional adjustment, coping, and adoption / maintenance of physical activity and other healthy lifestyle behaviors.